The Renovated Minetta Playground Finally Opens in Greenwich Village

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Ever since we spotted the striking blue play structure being built at 3rd Street and Sixth Avenue, we've been dying to explore Minetta Playground. Although it was originally scheduled to open last fall, it just unlocked its gates last week.

Despite its cool equipment, this new play spot doesn't quite qualify as a Destination Playground: it's modest in size and has no bathroom. But it's a great place to know about if the playgrounds in nearby Washington Square Park are overrun, which they often are. My active toddler certainly approved of Minetta Playground: We spent an hour playing on the bright green and blue structures, swinging on the baby swings, and running around a sprinkler area that will be spraying water soon enough.

Tie-Dye Party: At Home Birthday Party Ideas for Kids

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You don't have to go over the top with a birthday party to make it out of this world fun for kids. A simple, inexpensive at-home birthday party can be thrown together last minute by picking up some craft supplies and baking a cake. My daughter still calls her Tie-Dye Birthday Party the best one ever and all I did to prepare was run the local hardware store for some RIT Dye and rubber bands. Actually the hardest thing to find was the plain white T-Shirts (who sells Hanes in Manhattan any more?)

Favorite Birthday Cake and Cupcake Bakeries in New York City

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Whether it’s good old-fashioned angel food or trendy Southern red velvet, birthday cake is still the highlight of any party for kids. These days, however, the definition of “birthday cake” is expanding to also include cupcakes (amazing what one little episode of Sex and the City can do). Cupcakes are a good party choice because they can be cheaper, easier to serve, and more customizable than regular party cakes—the perfect answer when half your guests want chocolate and the other half crave vanilla. Whichever way you go, consider the following places. They’ll make any birthday party a sweet celebration.

Phineas and Ferb Birthday Party Ideas for The Ultimate At Home Party

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I know what we are gonna do today! My son just turned six and we decided to throw a party surrounding the two coolest boys in the Tri-State area, their annoying sister and their pet platypus: Phineas and Ferb. And even though I did use character plates and cups at the party, I am not talking about just laying out some Phineas and Ferb paper plates and calling it a theme! The party activities and cuisine really evoked the characters and fun of this cartoon. I think the party turned out fantastic. It was super small - just a couple of kids and I had it at home (yes, in a 2 bedroom Manhattan apartment!) 

Read on to find out how I created our Phineas and Ferb birthday party. We've got lots more at home birthday party ideas in our Birthday Party Guide.

Long Island Reading and Literacy Events

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March brings us an abundance of opportunities to celebrate our love of books! Schools, libraries, and families across Long Island have kicked off the month by celebrating both the 108th birthday of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day. The celebration continues on into next week with some very special book-centered events. Check out these free or cheap activities sure to engage your little bookworm!

Star Wars Birthday Party: Ideas for a Jedi Training Academy Theme Kids Party

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When I saw the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland last year, my first thought was, "this is so cool. I bet you could recreate this experience at home for an amazing birthday party theme." (I never claimed to be normal.) If you haven't seen it, Disney's Jedi Training Academy lets kids learn light saber moves and battle Darth Vader. It's pretty freaking cool, and I figured if you cut out some of the stage craft (like the fog machine) you could fairly simply recreate the Jedi Training Academy experience at home for the most amazing birthday party idea a mini Star Wars geek could imagine.

Weekly Wrap Up: Maple Sugaring Season, Purim Celebrations, Women's History Month

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We still have our Winter Guide up on our front page but since my daughter and I spotted blooming daffodils on the way to school this morning, we think it will soon be time to switch to our Spring Fun Guide.

The warm weather means maple sugaring season is in full swing and that New York City's plentiful playgrounds are buzzing with activity. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We remember years when it snowed in April, so don't give up on winter fun quite yet.

Our summer camp coverage continued with roundups of sleepaway camps that offer SAT prep, and nature-filled sleepaway camps on Long Island and in Connecticut. Meanwhile our New Jersey site's been all about birthdays this week, with posts on ice cream parties, animal parties, and party planners and entertainers. If you want to stay on top of everything that's going on in New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, Boston or Los Angeles, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. Read on for everything we covered on Mommy Poppins NYC this week.

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